Chapter 15 The Painting is Missing

The side room wasn't large, and Qin Jian felt a chill run down his spine at first glance.

The painting was gone!

Where did it go?

How could this be? Did they hide the painting? Qin Jian's mind raced.

No, impossible. Just looking at that painting, you could tell something was wrong with it. Forget touching it, even a few extra glances could bring big trouble.

They wouldn't dare.

Could it be... Qin Jian's heart sank. The painting... disappeared!

It disappeared after Chen Xiaomeng came looking for him!

Otherwise, why wouldn't she let him into the room the second time?

She was worried he'd discover the painting was missing.

Now everything made sense.

This was a trap.

They used some means to transfer the ghost's attention to him, and now... he was the one being targeted by the ghost!

Damn it...

But those words they said...

Qin Jian's ears twitched. He heard rapid footsteps approaching the door. In his haste, he spotted a crack in the back window, immediately pried it open, and scrambled out.

"Phew—" The fat man pushed open the door and exhaled, then said in a boorish voice, "Big Brother, no one's here."

"We can't let our guard down." Jiang Cheng strode in with an arrogant gait, then plopped down in a chair. "That old codger Qin Jian isn't so easily fooled."

"How's Old Six doing?"

"Don't worry, Big Brother." The fat man chuckled. "Sixth Brother said everything's stable. It's just that those few words might give the old codger some hints. Sixth Brother is worried..."

"That couldn't be helped." Jiang Cheng took a sip of tea, then slammed the teacup on the table with a "clang," making Qin Jian, eavesdropping outside the wall, flinch.

"There are no absolute dead ends in missions. Even if we transfer the risk to that old codger, according to the rules, he will be left with a chance to survive." Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. "It all depends on whether he can seize it."

"He can't." The fat man echoed with a lewd grin.

"Old Seven, notify the others. We'll make our move together tonight, trying to divert the old codger's attention." Jiang Cheng toyed with the teacup, sneering. "Let's see if the death of this old codger can give us any new ideas."

"Big Brother is wise."

......

Even when everyone gathered for dinner that evening, Qin Jian's head was still buzzing.

Not only was he unable to decipher those few words, but the bigger surprise came from the information Hao Shuai inadvertently revealed while talking to the fat man—

Big Brother.

The fat man called Hao Shuai Big Brother.

And that person called him Old Seven.

He also heard there was a Sixth Brother...

Even more frightening was that, after mentioning Old Six, the man who called himself Hao Shuai casually mentioned notifying the others...

Now the question was, how many people had they brought?

Were all seven of the Calabash Brothers here?

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Qin Jian finally understood why Hao Shuai always seemed so confident; it turned out he had a lot of backup.

His eyes inadvertently swept across everyone at the table. Qin Jian thought everyone looked like Hao Shuai's brother and couldn't be trusted.

"Mr. Qin." An Xuan suddenly said, "Why aren't you eating?"

Qin Jian was taken aback, then suddenly realized and put on a more natural expression. "I'm not very hungry. You guys eat first."

This An Xuan was also suspicious, probably one of Hao Shuai's men.

Qin Jian was wary.

Otherwise, why would he ask such a simple question, which was inconsistent with his usual persona?

That Shi Liaozhi, who was busy picking up food, was probably also suspicious. He hadn't looked at him once during the meal, was he afraid of being exposed if Qin Jian discovered something?

He just didn't know which number he was.

He couldn't trust anyone... His only chance of survival was in those few lines of poetry, only... those few lines of poetry! Thinking this, Qin Jian picked up his bowl and began shoveling rice into his mouth.

Xia Meng picked up a piece of pickled cucumber, bit it off with a "snap," then chewed it slowly, sighing at Qin Jian from the corner of her eye. This man wasn't stupid, just unlucky to have met the wrong people.

"Esteemed doctors," the middle-aged woman waiting outside the pavilion said in a polite but cold tone, "It's getting late. Please return to your rooms to rest as soon as you finish your meal."

"Don't delay tonight's lake tour," the middle-aged woman said. "Or you'll spoil the young master's mood."

You Qi looked at the middle-aged woman, opened his mouth, but didn't make a sound. He was probably trying to figure out what to call the woman, but as the woman's gaze fell on him, he steeled himself and said, "Tonight... how are we going to tour the lake tonight?"

"I mean, in what way?" he added.

Looking at the middle-aged woman seemed to take a lot of courage. He only glanced at her a few times before looking away.

"Choosing a bride."

Everyone was stunned by the middle-aged woman's answer.

A few seconds later, the woman suddenly smiled, her narrow eyes squinting, and her lips turned up in an exaggerated manner. The expression immediately reminded them of the paper figure from last night.

Except for the pale complexion and makeup, they were very, very similar.

"The young master needs you doctors to choose a bride for him," the middle-aged woman said in a sinister voice.

Close to midnight.

The cold wind on the lake blew against their bodies and faces like knives. The thin opera costumes offered almost no protection from the cold, yet no one dared to take them off.

Tang Shirou's example told them that these opera costumes probably represented their skin.

Even stranger, even though there was wind on the lake, it couldn't blow away the fog that had appeared at some point and was drifting across the lake's surface.

There was no moon tonight.

The lake, shrouded in a thin mist, was like a blot of ink that couldn't be diluted, and just staring at it gave people a very eerie feeling.

Qin Jian stood alone in a relatively remote spot, about 3 meters away from everyone else. Shi Liaozhi had been standing behind him earlier, but Qin Jian had walked away.

Shi Liaozhi frowned slightly at this.

They already understood the rules for this time. According to Chen Qiang, who knew a lot about folk customs, this was a small game played before weddings in remote areas of Xiang province.

The general idea was to select some women of similar stature, all dress them up as brides, and then cover their heads, mixing in the real bride.

Finally, the groom, who had already drunk three cups of entering-the-door wine, would choose, to see which one was his sweetheart.

The only difference this time was that the scene was set on the lake, and they needed to row over to choose, but the basic rules were still the same.

"Is there a penalty for choosing wrong?" Shi Liaozhi asked in a low voice.

"Not really."

Hearing Chen Qiang say this, everyone's expressions improved slightly.

"It's just that after the wedding banquet, the groom has to have the bride take off his wedding clothes with her own hands, and then beat him a few times with a broom in front of his parents, meaning to drive away..."

Before he could finish speaking, the fat man's face turned pale. Taking off his clothes, if applied here...

Wouldn't that be skinning?